What better source than a PhD candidate who has ‘been there, done that’ to help you through the fine points of goal setting? More than anyone wants to know about SMART and goal setting.
By now, it should have occurred to you that all these topics about college reading, writing, study skills and strategies are interrelated. Google one thing and take what you need; but if you miss it, it will probably come up again before you’re finished.
Randy Pausch has been a bit of hot topic on campuses around the country this past semester. Google that, too, because there are presentation at several venues available. I would recommend watching one of the longer ones – it’s worth the hour or more; the excerpts leave out 90% of what he has to say. [Randy Pausch died Friday, July 25, 2008.]
Another excellent one is The Top 10 Steps to Set and Achieve Your Goals – Every Time! by Dr. Philip E. Humbert. So is Creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals at the same website.
What is always implied and too often left out of the discussion is the physical act of writing it down – arguably as crucial as any strategy for getting from point A to point B. As with taking notes, there is a lot more going here than meets the eye. Writing down you goals somehow hard-wires it into your brain, probably somewhere deep within the subconscious mind. (I’m not at all certain the concept of subconscious mind is still valid. I sort of dropped the subject entirely when the only dude who made any sense to me started ranting about getting his insights from three spooks who lived in the hallway. I foolishly thought this was supposed to be ’science’ – but now days, science is primarily used as a weapon to scare the hell out of everybody.)
Other aspects that are too often overlooked and effectively undermines the whole process are commitment, determination, self-motivation, and self-discipline. All very good topics that really deserve individual attention.
You cannot go very far without running into SMART – the acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (or time limited).
What is always implied and too often left out of the discussion is the physical act of writing it down – arguably as crucial as any strategy for getting from point A to point B. As with taking notes, there is a lot more going here than meets the eye. Writing down you goals somehow hard-wires it into your brain, probably somewhere deep within the subconscious mind. (I’m not at all certain the concept of subconscious mind is still valid. I sort of dropped the subject entirely when the only dude who made any sense to me started ranting about getting his insights from three spooks who lived in the hallway. I foolishly thought this was supposed to be ’science’ – but now days, science is primarily used as a weapon to scare the hell out of everybody.)
What I do is write each goal on a 3×5 index cards, then lay them out together on the table to see what patterns and strategies appear, what needs to be broken down further, what should be done in some sequential order, what has a fixed deadline, yada-yada-yada. It’s very easy to prioritize from there – I know what’s important for me, but this way I can work in all the other commitments and expectations from others.
Other aspects that are too often overlooked and effectively undermines the whole process are commitment, determination, self-motivation, and self-discipline – but those are topics for future blog entries.
